Call For Proposals

The Call For Proposals opened February 3, 2025. The 50th anniversary conference of ASHE seeks to bring together scholars, activists, artists, and community leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue and innovative approaches to justice. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.'s profound words, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," the conference theme underscores the enduring struggle for equity and the role of creative and scholarly efforts in bending that arc towards justice. In line with this year's conference theme, "The Bend in the Arc: Activist Praxis & Justice Through Scholarly Creative Expression," we seek proposals that explore the intersection of activism, scholarship, and creative expression. Together, we will celebrate the resilience and creativity of those who bend the arc of history towards justice.

Access the Call For Proposals Document

(The full guide to the 2025 Call For Proposals including the information on this page)

Log Into the Conference Portal

(Access the ASHE Conference Portal to submit/edit a proposal during the submission window and/or to submit a volunteer application)

How-To Guides

Step-by-step instructions on navigating the ASHE Conference Portal to:

• Submit a Research Paper; Scholarly Paper; Performance, Visual, and Digital Scholarship; Works in Progress; or Poster proposal
• Submit a Self-Designed Paper Session proposal
• Submit an Interactive Symposium proposal

Important Dates

Visit ashe.ws/important-dates for a review of important due dates throughout the year for the conference.

General Proposal Information: Important Notes for 2025

Each year the ASHE Program Committee Co-Chairs and ASHE Staff review data from the previous conference (e.g. proposal submissions, evaluations), considers ASHE values and priorities, and make changes if needed to enhance the conference program. Relevant changes, policies, and procedures for the 2025 conference are listed below. In addition, to provide greater transparency on the proposal review process, we have updated information about the proposal review process at ashe.ws/review-process.

Conference Program Format Updates

The CEP Pre-Conference will be held in two parts, a virtual and an in-person component. More information can be found in the CEP Pre-Conference section of this document and on the website ashe.ws/cep-precon.

ASHE has created the ASHE Graduate Student Poster Award and will select the inaugural recipient(s) during the 50th Annual Conference. The award will provide $750 in two installments; a $250 annual award for the selected the poster author(s) (all of which shall be graduate students) and an additional $500 gift upon submission of a manuscript of the poster presentation to a scholarly venue (e.g., journal, op-ed) within one year of the annual
conference in which the award was presented. The stipend will be divided evenly amongst the authors. Additionally, the award comes with up to three hours of mentoring with the donors or another scholar that is most appropriate. The review criteria will be on the ASHE website later in the year once approved by the ASHE Awards Committee.

Virtual Presentation Options

Presenters who are not able to attend the in-person conference and/or who prefer to present in a virtual format will be able to submit their proposal for a virtual presentation during the Virtual Conference Day (October 30) or the CEP Pre-Con Virtual Forum (October 29).

• Presenters are able to select either an in-person presentation or a virtual presentation, not both.
• All Proposal Formats except Posters across all General Conference Sections can be considered for the Virtual Conference Day.
• Submissions for the CAHEP, CIHE, and CPPHE Pre-Conferences will only be considered for an In-Person Format.
• For in-person sessions, virtual/hybrid options are not available. Presenters can not be Zoomed in. This limits the accessibility of the event as audio and video may not be able to be connected properly during the in-person session.

Proposal Submissions and Review

Proposal and Presentation Limits: Participants may be included in a maximum of four General Conference proposals total regardless of role (e.g., co-author, symposium participant). A participant may appear on the General Conference program no more than five times in total across all roles and formats (e.g., Chair or symposium participant). These limits apply to the General Conference and do not include pre-conferences.

Assignment of Reviewers: To ensure the Program Committee has enough Reviewers to provide substantive feedback to each proposal we will once again engage our membership more fully in the review process. We encourage all ASHE members to volunteer to review. Those ASHE members who are terminal degree holders (e.g., Ed.D., J.D., Ph.D.), are listed as an author/co-authors proposal(s), and who did not sign up as a Reviewer in the ASHE Conference Portal may be assigned up to 12 proposals to review as needed.

Reviewer Limits: Reviewers will be able to indicate the maximum number of reviews they are willing to complete and no one Reviewer will be assigned more than 12 reviews in the initial round.

Reviewer and Discussant Recommendations: To continue efforts to enhance our peer review process, we are once again providing a space for proposal submitters to suggest Reviewers for their proposals. As evidenced in the past three years, this will support the Program Committee in better aligning proposals with appropriate Reviewers, providing better matches for Reviewers, and providing better feedback on proposals. For paper proposals, we have added an option for submitters to suggest a Discussant(s) for their paper if accepted. Although recommendations will be considered, we cannot guarantee that all recommendations will be able to be fulfilled.

Extending Qualifications for Reviewers and Discussant: In recognition that scholarship transcends a terminal degree, continuing from 2024, current ASHE members with substantial research or practical expertise relevant to the proposal who does not have a terminal degree (e.g., a policy maker or policy researcher with 10+ years experience) will be able to serve as a third Reviewer on paper, interactive symposium, and PVDS submissions as well as a Discussant. The Program Committee has been charged with selecting qualified Reviewers for all conference proposals (e.g., a Reviewer with matching methods expertise to a proposal submission), ensuring that Reviewer feedback is quality (e.g., sending a proposal out for a fourth review if necessary), and assigning Discussant to sessions based on their expertise. Extending qualifications for Reviewers and Discussants will help the Program Committee ensure that proposals are matched to ASHE members who are able to provide quality and constructive feedback.

More information about the proposal review process can be found at: ashe.ws/review-process.

Example Proposals

Recently accepted proposals are available online as a reference to help you prepare your proposal. Access requires an ASHE login, view the selection of example proposals at: ashe.ws/example-proposals.

Contacts

• General and logistical questions about the ASHE 2025 Conference (such as help with the Conference Portal): Email ASHE staff at conference@ashe.ws, response time is within 2 business days, and typically within a few hours.
• Questions about the Call For Proposals or Conference Program Committee and their role: Please reach out to the Program Committee Co-Chairs Tonisha B. Lane, tblane@vt.edu & Marissa C. Vasquez, mvasquez@sdsu.edu.
• Section related questions: Please reach out to the ASHE Staff at conference@ashe.ws and the questions will be relayed to the appropriate Section Chair(s).
• Pre-Conference related questions: Please reach out to the corresponding Pre-Conference Chairs listed in respective sections in the 2025 Call for Proposals document linked at the top of the page.
• Accessibility options and assistance for submitting a proposal: If there are any ways in which ASHE can make the proposal submission form more accessible for you, please send requests to Alicia Castillo Shrestha, Associate Director for Conference and Events at alicia@ashe.ws.